The I-Team obtained the report, the whole effort for which started after a vicious burning of a dog in 2009. Now, several members of the anti-abuse commission have resigned.

A pit bull named Phoenix was burned so badly in a southwest Baltimore neighborhood in 2009 that she eventually had to be euthanized. The case led to criminal charges, gaining national attention and causing then-Mayor Sheila Dixon to set up an animal cruelty task force.

Later, it became the Anti-Animal Abuse Advisory Commission set up by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake in November 2010. But a new report by the commission delivered to City Hall in April details serious setbacks as a result, the report says, of the failure of city agencies to do their part.

In part, the report states: "Most distressing, many of the stakeholders in the fight against animal abuse have not cooperated with the commission ... We have lost ground in the past year ... to protect animals from abuse."

One problem cited is the Police Department. Since the retirement of Fred Bealefeld as commissioner, the report says the Police Department's interest in the commission began to wane. One commander involved saw meetings as unproductive. Despite the links between animal abuse and violent crime, the report notes: "... many law enforcement officials in Baltimore continue to treat animal abuse as a minor property crime."

Accounting for the number of cases has become a challenge according to the report, and a system was set up in 2009 to track cases. But according to the report, "Animal Control never fully implemented or sustained these protocols."

Animal Control falls under the Baltimore City Health Department, but the report indicates health commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot didn't attend a meeting of the anti-abuse commission for 18 months after she was appointed.

"Animal Control remains the neglected stepchild of the ... (Baltimore) City Health Department ... an entity that is chronically underfunded and understaffed," the report states.

Despite the city's size, just one animal control officer is on duty at night, according to the report. Since last year, no one is responding to calls for animals running at large.

The report said there are signs of improved cooperation from city agencies, but as many as five key members of the commission resigned, including the chair and a Circuit Court judge, who had trouble after her dog was attacked.

A city spokesman told 11 News Friday night that the mayor is reviewing the report and that the city does not tolerate animal abuse.